Even some supporters are becoming frustrated with all the delays, which include getting the power turned on -- and to stay on -- at the toilets. One downtown blogger has posted regular "Toilet Watch" updates on his website in frustration.
"If we want to clean up the smells and sights of our streets, we have to be able to offer these facilities," said Eric Richardson, the blogger, who is a member of the area's neighborhood council.
CBS Outdoor and JCDecaux are installing transit shelters, public kiosks and toilets as part of a massive "coordinated street furniture" deal with the city. The companies foot the bill for installing all the structures, including the toilets, and for the maintenance on each.
Separate city departments have been responsible for overseeing installation of the APTs, the running of sewer, power, water and phone lines to the sites, and inspection and permitting of the toilets.
The departments blame each other for the delay. Various people interviewed attributed the delay to a lack of cooperation among the agencies responsible for getting the toilets operational.
Francois Nion, a co-managing director of the CBS-JCDecaux venture, blamed the slow installation process on a lack of power and water hookups.
"It's a big city," he said. "There are so many departments you have to go through."
Lance Oishi of the city's Bureau of Street Services was blunt: "The utilities are holding up the opening," he said -- a nod to the city's Department of Water and Power.
Joe Ramallo, a spokesman for that agency, said officials were looking into the cause of the delay. He said work on the Pershing Square unit would be completed in a month.
The one downtown toilet that is operational sits just outside San Julian Park, at San Julian and 5th streets.
Its location -- in the heart of skid row -- and its price -- free -- guarantee that it gets a lot of use. Nion said estimates put daily usage at about 120 to 130 flushes.
A toilet at the Red Line station in North Hollywood gets a similar number of flushes. An APT in Northridge, near the Metrolink station, gets about 20 to 30 users a day.
As a group, the toilets are sleek, modular units with doors that whoosh open like an elevator's, with plenty of space for ads on the outside.
